Shoe-clasp



(No Model.) I

E. S. SMITH.

SHOE CLASP. No. 372,576. I Patented Nov. 1, 1887.

N. PETERSv Phuw-Lnhographnr. Washington. D C

tlNiTnn STATES PATENT Unites.

EDYVARD S. SMITH, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT.

SHOE CLASP.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 372.576, dated November1,1887.

Application tiled September 22, 1887. Serial No. 250,398. (No model.)

To all whom it may conccrm Be it known that I, EDWARD S. SMITH, ofWaterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new Improvement in ShoeClasps; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and theletters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of thisspecification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a top view of the clasp with the lever in the open position;Fig. 2, a side view showing the lever in the closed position; Fig. 8. alongitudinal central section with the lever in the closed-position; Fig.i, a central section with the lever in the open position, the springbroken away to show the stop; Fig. 5, a transverse section through thenotches with the lever in the open position, and illustrating the stopsas bearing upon the pivot end of the le ver; Fig. 6, the plate Adetached; Fig. 7, the spring-plateB detached; Fig. 8, the blank fromwhich the tongue is formed; Fig 9, an edge View of the tongue detached.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of buckles orclasps designed for over-shoes, in which the clasping device consists ofa plate fixed to a standing strap, a hook-shaped lever hinged to saidplate by the hoolcshaped end of the lever, and so that the lever mayturn down onto the platein its closed position, leaving a space betweenthe body of the lever and the plate at the hinge or hook end, combinedwith a loop,also fixed to a standing strap, and so that the lever turnedaway from its plate into its open position may be introduced through thesaid loop, and then by returning the lever and the frame to its closedposition the loop will be drawn into the hookshaped part of the leverand close upon the pivot, and aspring upon the said plate adapted tobear upon the hinge end of the lever, so as to retain it in its closedor engaged position or permit it to be opened-a class of clasps wellknown in the trade.

In the more general construction of this class of clasps the frame ismade in two parts or plates, substantially alike-one or both elastic-thetwo plates secured together at one end and bifurcated at the other end,so that the lever may be hung between them. The pivots on the hook areflat, and the seats for the pivot are formed by making recesses in thetwo legs of one or both plates and between the plates, so that thepivots and the pivot end of the lever act like cams against the springto separate the spring and plate as the leveris turned from one extremeto the other, the spring yielding under the said cam-like action, andthen by its reaction forcing the 'leverinto either of its extremepositions. The recess in the frame for the hinge has usually been madeby depressions in the surface of one or both of the plates.

The object of my invention is a cheap and simple construction and one inwhich certain difficulties existing in the usual construction of thisclass of clasps, and which will hereinafter appear, are avoided.

In carrying out myinvention I construct the frame of two plates, A B.(Shown detached in Figs. 6 and 7.) The plate A is preferably made of Ushape; but in any case one end is bifurcated to form legs 0 1). Bothplates are preferably cut from sheet-steel, or other suitable elasticmetal, and of a thickness according to the strength of the bucklerequired. Upon the inner side of both logs the edge is turned upward,and in the turned-up edge at each side a notch, a, is formed. The outerportions of the turned-up edge form carsb b. The inner portions of theturned-up edge also form ears d d. The ears I) stand in a plane at rightangles to the plane of the arms 0 I); but the upper ends of the ears (Idare both turned toward each other and over the space between the legs,as clearly seen in Fig. 6, and so that the space between the two ends ofthe cars at d is narrower than the space between the two legs proper.

The second plate, 13, is preferably made in shape corresponding to theplate A, but instead of terminating in two legs at one side itterminates in a tongue, E, narrower than the space between the two legs0 D of the plate A, and so as to set upon the frame and bring the tonguebetween the two ears (2 d, as seen in Fig. 1. The shape of the body ofthe two plates is, as before stated, preferably-alike,

' and so that when set together, as seen in Fig.

1, there will be an opening, F, through both plates, by which the claspmay be connected to the strap. I

The two plates are best secured together by forming proj ecting'tlaps GG on one part, A, as seen in Fig. 6, and then, when the two plates areset together, closing the two flaps G G over the plate B, as seen inFigs. 1 and 2; but the two plates may be otherwise vsecured-say as byrivets, indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1.

H represents the lever. This is cut from sheet metal, as seen in Fig. 8.At one end it is of a width corresponding substantially to the widthbetween the two legs 0 D of the plate A, and at that end lateralprojections e are formed, in width corresponding substan-- tially to thewidth of the notches a between the ears b d. These projections e arefiat, as seen in Fig. 9, and form the pivots upon which the lever is toturn. At the opposite end the lever terminates in any convenient shape,to serve asa handle for operating the lever. The lever is bent into hookshape at the pivot end, and so that the pivots will stand distant fromthe body of the hook, but in a plane substan tially parallel therewith.The pivots are introduced between the tongue E of the plate B and intothe notches a a of the plate A, and, as represented in Fig. 1, theelasticity of one or both plates permitting such introduction of thelever after the platesare secured together, if preferred. This bringsthe tongue E to bear upon one side of the pivot end, while the otherside rests inthe notches a a in the plate A.. The lever being in theclosed position, as seenin Fig. 3, the tongue E rests upon the pivot endof the lever inside the hook, and serves to hold the handle end ofthelever down upon the other end of the plate' and in its closed position.If, now, the free end of the lever be raised, it will turn upon thepivots, and owing to the fiat shape of the pivots they act as camsbetween the legs 0 D and the tongue E, and the tongue being naturallythe more elastic will yield under the cam-like action of the lever, asindicated in broken lines, Fig. 2, until the lever is so far turned asto incline the reverse side of the pivot end of the lever to the spring.Then the reaction of the spring will serve to throw the lever to itsextreme open position, as seen in Fig. 4., and as also seen in Fig. 1.In this open condition the loop is applied to the lever in the usualmanner. Then the lever returned, will raise the spring, as before, untilthe lever is so far returned as to permit the spring to work over thepivot end of the lever, when the spring will again react and serve tothrow the lever into the closed position, as seen in Figs. 3 and 2. Thisaction of the spring upon the lever, in combination with the flatpivots, is common and well known, and is the same in this ,claspas inothers.

In producing the notches a to receive the pivot, by turning the inneredge of the legs upward to form the ears I) d, I avoid the depressionsin the legs or plates, and the under surface of the plate is thereforeleft flatand smooth.

As the lever is thrown to the open position, as seen in Fig. 4, werethere nothing to stop it, it would be free to be turned beyond that openposition. In so doing it will act as a cam against the spring, and owingto the hook shape or projection of the lever beyond the pivots the camaction would be so great that the spring would be liable to be broken.To produce a stop which shall prevent such possible accidental workingof the spring or tongue E, the ears (1, one or both, are turned inward,as represented in Fig. 6, and so as to extend over the pivot end of thelever when it is in its open position, and as seen in Fig.4; hence whenthe lever is thrown to the wideopen position, orsubstantially there, thelever back of the pivots will come to a bearing against the stops d, andfurther turning of the leveris prevented. Consequently the cam-likeaction of, the lever upon the spring, which would occur by turning itbeyond the wideopen position, is avoided.

It will be evident that turning inward one of the cars at only will besufficient to form a stop for the lever in its wide-open positionthatis, the turned-in portion of one may be omitted, as indicated'in brokenlines, Fig. 6. Therefore, while preferring to turn the ears d d inwardalike, I do not wish to be understood as limiting this part of theinvention to the turning in of both ears.

I claim- 1. The herein described clasp, consisting of two sheet-metalplates, A B, secured together at one end, the opposite end of the plateA bifurcated, the inner edge of the legs turned upward from the plate atsubstantially right angles thereto, the said turned-up edges having anotch, a, formed in each as a seat for the pivot, the other plate, B,having its free end narrower than the distance between the two legs oftheplate A, forming a tongue, E,

which is adapted to rest between the said legs, combined with thehook-shaped lever H, its hook-shaped end constructed withlaterally-projecting flat pivots 6, corresponding to the notches a inthe turned-up edges of the plate A, the said pivots resting upon theplate A in said notches, the free end E of the plate B arranged to bearupon the reverse side of the pivot end of the lever, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination of the plates A and B, secured together at one end,the plate A bifurcated at the opposite end, the inner edge of the twolegs turned upward at substantially right angles to the plate, saidturned-up edges having a notch, a, formed therein, and so as to produceears I) at the outer end of the legs and ears (1 upon the opposite sideof the notches, the said ears'd turned inward toward each other, thefree end of the plate 13 new 5 pivots e, the said pivots resting uponthe plate Tower than the space between the legs of the the saidturned-in ears (2 forming a stop for plate A and extending between them,with the lever in its open position, substantially as 10 the hook-shapedlever H, the hook-shaped described. end constructed wlth 1ateral1y-proect1ng flat EDWVARD S SMITH.

A within said notches, while the free end of Witnesses: 1 I v the plateB, between the said legs, bears upon GREENE KENDEIcK,

the reverse side of the pivot end of the lever, FANNIE S. LOVERIDGE.

